Revanth Reddy Proposes Lowering Minimum Age to 21 After CJP Protest Win

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy announced Sunday that his government will move a resolution in the August Assembly session recommending the minimum age for Lok Sabha and Assembly candidates be cut from 25 to 21, and for Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council from 30 to 25.

Reddy made the remarks a day after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) called off its weeks-long sit-in at Jantar Mantar following Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation — the movement's central demand over the NEET-UG paper leak.

"Ever since he assumed power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his 56-inch chest bowed before people twice," Reddy told reporters in Hyderabad. "Once after the farm-laws agitation, and now after Gen Z agitated for the removal of a sitting education minister."

He said the Congress did not try to "steal credit" from the students. "We supported the protest from outside. The credit belongs to the youngsters."

Reddy added he will hand a representation to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi asking that a private member's Bill to lower the entry age be introduced in the ongoing Parliament session. He also urged a Joint Parliamentary Committee to examine the demand.

The Indian Express reported that Reddy framed the CJP victory as proof that youth can force accountability from the ruling dispensation. The New Indian Express confirmed the CM's plan to pursue the legislative route in August and to take the proposal directly to Gandhi.

What we can verify

• Revanth Reddy, speaking in Hyderabad on 26 July 2026, pledged a Telangana Assembly resolution to lower the minimum age for Lok Sabha and Assembly contests to 21, and for Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council to 25 (Indian Express; The New Indian Express).
• He linked the announcement directly to the CJP agitation that secured Pradhan's resignation on 25 July (Indian Express).
• Reddy said he will submit a note to Rahul Gandhi requesting a private member's Bill in the current Parliament session and will ask for a JPC (Indian Express; The New Indian Express).

What remains unverified

• Whether the proposed private member's Bill will actually be tabled or find cross-party support [unverified].
• Whether the Telangana resolution will pass in August and be forwarded to the Centre in its current form [unverified].
• Exact numbers of CJP protesters at peak are not cited by either outlet and remain [unverified].